When the Past Haunts You: Rewrite
by Angelyn
Summary: Everything started out as a simple mission. But when Heero and the others sink deeper into the truth, they wonder if they've found a friend or foe. Rewrite from the original. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!
1. It Begins with a Dream

Ok, This is a rewrite from the original story that I'd written so long ago. I looked at recently and I couldn't help but think, "I need to totally do this over." So here's the new version. Hopefully, it's a **LOT** better than the original. Plus it has more action. So ENJOY!! Speaking of originals, I'm gonna leave that version up for just a little while longer so you can see the difference. And I mean they will be **DRASTIC**.

Warning: Heero might be a tad bit OOC. But I don't think I went over the line.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything asscociated with Gundam Wing or the Gundam Wing Characters. Everyone else is mine.

**When the Past Haunts You**

**Chapter 1**

"I'm gonna get you," a young boy who appeared to be around the age of seven or eight said with a lot of humor as he chased his friend in the large green field. The day couldn't be more beautiful than it was right now. The wind was blowing the grass in one direction, making the entire field do a dance. Birds could be heard chirping in the surrounding trees as butterflies and bees flew around without a care. With this peaceful picture, one wouldn't think there was a sign of any sort of war.

"No you won't," the boy's friend yelled with laughter as she tried to get away from him. The girl was around the boy's age. Her brown hair was blown in her face by the wind as she tried to run faster. But unfortunately for her, she tripped on her own feet and feel face-first into the grass. As she tried to get up, she felt a heavy weight land on top of her with a thud. "Get off me!" she yelled at the boy with a mixture of humor and pain.

The boy laughed harder as he quickly got off of his friend. "You are so weak." He often liked to make fun of the girl. The two had been the best of pals since the day they met perhaps because all they had was each other. "That's why you always lose when I'm it."

The girl only smiled. Her friend had too big of an ego. "And you forget that I always get you back in the end. And besides, this time wasn't fair. I tripped," the girl protested.

The boy glared at the girl. "So?"

"So you cheated."

The boy then looked surprised by that last comment. "I did not! I caught you fair and square!"

Before the girl could answer another voice intervened with a great deal of command. "Kids, come on. We need to leave now!"

The boy and girl looked at the end of the field to see their guardian, Dekeim standing at the end of the field next to his car. With quick haste, the two got up from where they were and ran to the car. Dekeim opened the back door and let the children in. he smirked to himself. This was going to be an interesting ride.

The car ride progressed for about 45 minutes until Dekeim stopped in a wooded area in the middle of nowhere. This place was nothing like the open field that they had just left from. This area was so full of trees that the sky was nearly invisible. It made the place look dark and gloomy. Birds couldn't be seen anywhere and trees were dead. This was sight of a war zone, but neither child knew where they were. The car came to a halt and Dekeim quickly got out of the car and went to the side where the girl was sitting. He opened the door and snatched the girl from inside and threw her to the ground with so much force that the girl screamed in pain. As quickly as the girl hit the ground Dekeim gave her a swift, hard kick in the stomach. It was so hard that she coughed blood.

The boy quickly noticed and got out of the car to help his friend. "Ayame!" He called to her. To help Ayame, he gave Dekeim a hard kick in the back. "Leave her alone."

Dekeim turned to the boy with a fury in his eyes. This boy stepped over the line. "You forget you place boy!"

Before the boy could do anything Dekeim kicked him in the head and the boy landed on the ground hitting his head on a rock. Everything became blurry. Before he lost consciousness, he could hear Ayame yell his name with both concern for him and fear. "Heero!"

* * *

"Heero! Wake up!" Duo yelled as he tried to shake his roommate out of his sleep. This was the third night that Heero had this nightmare and frankly this was getting irritating. Duo was getting tired of hearing him call out that girl's name.

Heero's eyes shot open as he sat up in a cold sweat and out of breath. He looked over to see Duo standing over him. Although it was obvious that he was bothered, he tried not to let it show. "What is it Duo?" He asked while hiding his troubles with his usual monotone.

Duo was used to Heero's indifferent attitude. It was like his friend had no emotion. But he knew that Heero cared for those who were close to him. There were still times where he wondered why he still put up with his old friend in the first place. "You were having that dream again. And once again, you kept calling that chick's name," Duo answered with complete irritation.

Heero laid back down and turned his back to Duo. "It's nothing."

Duo was agitated. This was the third night that Heero was waking him up during the wee hours of the morning. "Nothing?! It sure as hell is something if you're keeping me awake in the middle of the damn night!"

Heero didn't flinch. "Go to sleep Duo," he demanded.

Duo sighed in defeat and went back to his side of the room and got back into his bed. _I can't wait till this mission is over so that I can finally go back to getting a FULL night's rest,_ he thought to himself as he dozed back off to sleep.

It had been six years since the war ended. Many people have threatened to resurface the very organizations that had started the war so long ago. During the course of the six years Heero, Duo and others have gone on various missions in order to prevent revolution, thus preventing war. With this particular mission, Heero and Duo were assigned to partner up and go undercover at a university as students. The reason: a group of students have organized the Ursa Major Organization and have threatened to attack those who are against them. The two are to attend classes like normal students and all the while hunting down the members of this new Ursa Major Organization.

Heero laid in his bed and thought about the dream he'd just had. Ever since that day Ayame had haunted his memory. Through his training, he'd managed to work without having to worry about the past. But for some reason he still couldn't control his dreams.

* * *

Well this is the end of the first chapter. Please review and let me know what you think.


	2. Enter: Everyone

I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. I'm gonna try my best to keep them coming. Now as a warning, I decided at the last minute to make Quatre a girl. I know some of you might not like it, but it's crucial for the storyline.

_From here on out, the flashbacks which will be in italics._

But anyway! Enjoy Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Enter: Everyone**

The next morning Heero was awakened by the beeping coming in from the video phone in the room. He slowly sat up in his bed. Before he could get up, Duo came out of the bathroom full of energy and pressed the talk button on the phone. Then the image of a young woman with short blonde hair and big blue eyes greeting Duo with the biggest smile. "Quatre babes. What's up?"

"Good Morning Duo," Quatre Winner greeted her co-worker with a cheerful tone. Of the pilots she was the one with a true heart. Unlike the pthers she was born into a family that once held a lot of power. Her father fought to maintain peace within their small country, but war had become inevitable. A town that was divided by war, rebels came and killed Quatre's family. Quatre was severely injured and on the brink of death when the family scientist managed to save her and restore her health. Despite the fact that the other fighters had far more experience, Quatre was a quick learner and proved to be just as dangerous. Toward the end of the war when all of the Gundam Pilots had to come together, not only was she the best strategist, but she was the one who provided the safe houses for her comrades as well. If someone needed help, Quatre was the one to go to.

"So what's the scoop," Duo cut to business. "Got anything on our people?"

Quatre nodded as her smile dropped and she got into a much more serious mode. "Yup. I've managed to get the class schedules of a couple of students whom we believe might be involved with the Ursas. I've downloaded them and e-mailed them to both you and Heero."

Duo nodded and processed the information that he'd just received. "Cool."

With that, Quatre continued. "With classes starting tomorrow Trowa and I will be in later this afternoon to help you guys out."

Duo lifted an eyebrow with a little bit of concern. He and Heero never had any issues completing missions in the past. "You guys are coming in? What for?"

"It's for backup," Quatre answered with a nonchalant tone. "From what we gather from over here, things might get ugly."

"I see," Duo said as he took a deep breath. He looked back at Heero who was sitting up in his bed listening to the conversation that was going on and taking in the information. "You got that?"

Heero only nodded and got out of his bed and went to the rest room, closing the door behind him.

Duo rolled his eyes at Heero's actions and turned his attention back to Quatre who now had a humored look on her face. She typically enjoyed the interaction that Heero shared with his comrades. She knew that he cared and that was all that mattered to her and the rest of the group. "Anyway Duo, we registered you guys into some of the classes that we believe include our targets. You guys might want to keep your guard up. This group is considered very dangerous."

"Roger that Quatre," Duo with a serious tone. "I'm out."

With that, Quatre logged off.

Duo logged off and went to sit on his bed. Quatre was too sweet sometimes, but she was the one who somehow managed to be the glue of the group. Sometimes he believed that she was the one with the soul because she was the kindest his comrades. She almost didn't deserve the lifestyle of killing that she had been living.

* * *

Later that afternoon, with Duo out of the room doing whatever it was he was doing, Heero took it as an opportunity to do a little research on more details for his mission. Part of him had been feeling a sense of guilt because he never tried to search for Ayame since that fateful day or even after the war ended. Considering that the two of them met under such sad circumstances, Heero always believed that Ayame didn't deserve the life she lived. Despite the short-lived but hard training that she had to endure along with him, she always somehow managed to stay positive.

Unlike Heero, Ayame was lucky enough to have a few memories of her parents. The one thing that she never let go was the one thing that her mother always reminded her to do: "No matter how grim a situation may get, always try to maintain your happiness." And throughout the short time that he knew her, Ayame did her best to do just that. Perhaps it was that sort of attitude that led to her demise. Dekeim never believed in softies fighting in the war. After witnessing the death of her parents in a gruesome fire due to an attack, Dekeim took her in promising to take care of her.

It seemed like almost yesterday when the two of them first met. The very night of her parents' death, Ayame sat in one of the beds in the dark bedroom. The only source of light was coming from the moon through the big window. She sat with her knees against her chest as she cried her heart out for her mommy and daddy. Lost and confused, she didn't know how she could live a life without her mommy being there to tuck her in at night or her father to pick her up and give her piggy back rides. She was so lonely.

_After another long day of training, Heero came into his room completely exhausted and looking forward to the little bit of rest was about to get. When he stepped in, he spotted a girl crying in the bed adjacent from his._

_He slowly walked up to the side of the bed where the girl sat. "Why are you crying?"_

_The girl sniffed as she looked up at the boy with her tear-filled eyes, but she didn't say a word._

_"Why are you crying," the boy repeated with a bit more curiosity._

_Even more tears streamed out of her eyes. "Mommy! Daddy!" With that, she cried even more._

_This reaction startled Heero. Here was this strange girl in his bedroom crying her eyes out and he didn't even know how to deal with her. "Please don't cry. My name's Heero. What's your name?"_

_The girl looked at Heero a second time. She sniffed and wiped her tear-stained face. "Ayame," she answered while trying to hold back her tears._

It was from that moment that Ayame and Heero had developed a strong bond. It was a bond that in the end proved to be fatal for the both of them. Perhaps it was their key to weakness. But Heero still couldn't understand why Dekeim didn't get rid of him like he'd gotten rid of Ayame. What had she done wrong? Perhaps she was too weak. But at the same time, Heero remembered Ayame to be a strong fighter when they trained. He just couldn't understand that, but he wouldn't let that hinder his present.

* * *

While Heero sat in his dorm room typing diligently on his laptop, hacking into files, he heard a knock at the door. He put up a word processor screen to hide his progress. Without looking back, he answered, "It's open."

"How's the research coming so far?"

Recognizing the voice to be Trowa's, Heero cut off the word processor and continued what he was doing. "I've got a few more possibilities to add to Quatre's list that we can look into while we're here."

Trowa and Heero had fairly similar personalities. Trowa is perhaps a bit more on the social side. Out of the group of young people, Trowa only remembers fighting. From as far back as he could remember, he'd been fighting in the war. However, he became the man working from the inside. He was so convincing that there was a point where his comrades didn't even know whose side he was on. In the end, he proved to be loyal. After joining the Preventers, he became quite handy in knowing how particular groups liked to think.

Walking into the room and standing behind Heero's shoulder, Trowa agreed with Heero's last comment. "We need to do as much as possible while we're here. But this thing is going to take a lot longer than the other missions that we've dealt with."

Heero took a deep breath. "Hn. I know."

Trowa spoke in the same monotone that Heero did. "Where's Duo?"

"Being Duo," Heero answered bluntly. "Quatre's here with you?"

"She's in her dorm room getting situated. It seems she has a roommate." This came as no surprise to Trowa. She was always the one who went out of her way for others. When it came to Quatre and Trowa, it was obvious that they had feelings for one another, but they never acted on it. Whatever chance they had, they would try to partner up and spend some extra time together.

Heero smirked a little. "That's no surprise."

* * *

Quatre opened the door to her dorm room and surveyed her surroundings. The beds were horizontal from where she was standing. Between the beds was a door, which has to be the bathroom. The side of the room closest to the window was already fixed up in the neatest fashion. The bed was made, a laptop computer sat on the desk with a blank screen, and was decorated with the latest trimmings. Has to be the roommate's side. Quatre stepped in and placed her bags on the bed closest to the door. She opened her bags and preceded to unpack her clothes and towels. Then she took a stack of towels and went to the bathroom to find a place to put them. When Quatre came back out a few seconds later she spotted another woman that looked around her age standing in the doorway surveying the addition to the room and then looking at her. Wearing blue jeans with a long black button-down tunic shirt with black leather boots, his girl had a light brown skin complexion with dark brown expressionless eyes that almost looked black. Her light brown hair stopped just before the middle of her back. The color really went well with her complexion.

Quatre smiled and greeted her with kindness. "Hi."

The girl had her guard up. Quatre could sense that. But she spoke anyway. "Hi. I wasn't told I was getting a new roommate." She didn't sound thrilled about the matter at hand.

Quatre walked closer to the girl bust stayed close to her bed. This woman put her a little in the mind of Heero. It was almost scary. But she kept her cool. "My name's Quatre Winner," she stuck out her hand offering to shake.

The girl took the offer. She seemed to relax a little more as she sensed that Quatre seemed genuine. "The name's Crystal James. Nice to meet you."

The two women let go as Crystal went and sat at the desk in front of her computer and turned it. Quatre sat down on her bed as silence engulfed the room.

"So are you from around here," Crystal broke the silence without looking away from her computer.

Quatre answered in a slightly cheerful tone, "I am. Grew up in this town." She knew she was lying, but she had to keep her cover.

"I see."  
"So what about you," Quatre returned the question.

Crystal turned and looked at Quatre. "No. I've been all over." She then got up from her desk and grabbed black bag that was sitting next to the computer. "Now I don't mean to be rude. But I have some people to meet."

Quatre nodded, "That's fine. I was just about to meet some people myself."

As Crystal approached the door, she said, "Cool. I'll see you later then." With that, Crystal walked out the door.

**_To Be Continued..._**

* * *

Well that's all for now. Please review and let me know how it is so far. Till next time...


	3. Crossing Paths

**Chapter 3: Crossing Paths**

"Crystal! Over here!"

Crystal looked to her right as she walked down the path at the heart of the campus. It was the perfect place for students to meet. To the right and left of her there were fountains. And surrounding the fountains were trees. The area was so spaced out, one could feel the fresh air in the atmosphere.

Crystal was looked over at the source of the voice who was calling to her. There was a girl wearing blue jeans and a green baby-T waving for her to come over. This girl, that Crystal came to know as Josephine, is known to be a cheery, bubbly girl whom she'd met while registering for her classes. Sitting under a tree next to Josephine was a guy dressed in black jeans with a black t-shirt and black boots like he he'd been to a funeral. But despite his dark look, he seemed to be as cheerful as Josephine was. Crystal cringed to herself, but she maintained her composure. She walked over to where Josephine and the guy were sitting and greeted them. "What's going on?"

Josephine had a big smile her face as she spoke to Crystal. Her short brown hair accented her face and her green eyes displayed nothing but joy. It was almost aggravating to Crystal. "Nothing. I just wanted you meet my new friend Duo Maxwell. Duo, this is Crystal James."

Crystal looked over at Duo. Apart from his all-black attire, he had extremely long chestnut brown hair twisted into one long braid. She herself would never allow her hair to get that long. Crystal nodded her head. "Hi."

Duo stood up and extended his hand to Crystal. "Nice to meet ya." He had the cheesiest grin on his face.

Crystal took his hand and they shook. "Same," she said bluntly as she took her hand back.

"Duo just started here. He and I have a couple of classes together tomorrow."

Crystal didn't seem to care. "Hn. Nice." She then turned and walked away. She really didn't like that chick. Too cheerful.

Duo lifted an eyebrow. Crystal's personality put him in the mind of a Heero or Trowa. He didn't know that there world be more people like them. Scary.

* * *

That night, Heero and Duo sat in their room as Duo talked about his day. And the people he'd meet. Heero was just sitting on his computer typing away.

"And there was this one chick that reminded me of you Heero. Can you believe that there's a female version of you?" Duo continued babbling.

Heero didn't flinch. He'd been friends with Duo for years and by now he was used to Duo's running mouth. If it had been four years ago, the situation might have been a lot different. But tonight, he just wasn't in the mood. He closed his laptop and got up from his desk and headed to the door.

Duo took notice and asked, "Where you going?"

"Out," Heero said as he walked out the door.

Duo just didn't understand his friend. He will have to admit that Heero had been a lot better over the years. He used to be so isolated from everyone when it came to his work. Missions were always first. But now he managed to try to show a little more compassion for his comrades. Well, every little bit helps.

* * *

Heero went into the student lounge on his floor of the building. With classes starting the next morning, he was sure that there would be very few people in there. When he entered the lounge, he there was no one else there. This was the quiet that he was waiting for.

After a couple of hours he'd managed to hack into the school's student database. By now it was one in the morning so he figured that was all for now. He shut his laptop down and proceeded to get up. He glanced over at the window and looked at the night sky. _Space looks beautiful from here,_ he thought to himself as he walked up to the window.

Looking down, he viewed the night campus. There were lights over benches along the paths of the campus. He spotted a girl sitting on one of the benches under the light as she read a book.

Apparently sensing him, the girl looked up and stared directly back at him with cold eyes. Heero can sense that there was something familiar about her and he knew that she had to be sensing the same thing.

After what seemed like eternity, the girl broke the silent standoff by just getting up from her seat and walking away. Something in Heero knew that he needed to keep an eye on her and he was going to do just that.

* * *

The first day of classes was a drag for everyone involved in the mission. Then again, that was expected. Duo and Quatre played the roles of the friendly, outgoing people who went out of their ways to make new friends, while Trowa and Heero made their connections and did their research on the people the other two had met. That same method worked for every mission in the past. So they stuck with that strategy.

By the end of the week, the team had established connections throughout the university but there was still no sign of the Ursa Major Organization. That is until Duo got a break. So they met in Heero and Duo's dorm room to come up with a strategy

Trowa leaned back against the window in the room after taking in the information he'd just received. "So Josephine Whitaker is a member of the new Ursa Major and she wants you to join."

Duo was more than serious about this situation. "Yup. And she wants me to see about joining them since she thinks that I think this new peace isn't what the people need."

Quatre had been leaning back in her chair listening to the conversation. "Well Duo, I suggest you act interested, but don't join right away. Try to join later if it deems necessary. See what information you can get from her without getting in too deep"

Duo took a deep breath. "I hate to disagree with you Quatre. But I think that if I join sooner, then we can hurry and get a lock in on everything from location to who's in."

Quatre was silent for a moment. She wasn't for her friends being put in danger without it being necessary. But she knew Quatre was right. She turned to Heero who'd been sitting at the very end of the table with his eyes downward as he was taking in the information in silence. "Heero, what do you think?"

"If Duo takes his time we can get the information we need," Heero got up from his seat with his book bag and headed to the exit. He put his hand on the door knob. "But you do what you want Duo." With that, he walked out the door.

The others sat in silence as they looked at the door that Heero has just walked out of. Duo was the first to talk. "I just don't get that guy to this day."

Quatre smiled. "You know Heero. Always trying to be perfect."

"Well he hasn't been so perfect lately."

"What do you mean Duo?" Trowa said looking at him.

Duo leaned forward, "Heero's been having the same nightmare for over a week." Irritation was beginning to take over. "He's been waking me up in the middle of the night screaming in his sleep. It's been kicking my ass."

Quatre laughed a little. "Well that explains why you've been a bit more quiet than usual. But it only means that Heero is dealing with some part of his past that only he can deal with. I hope he's ok."

"He will be," Trowa reassured. "Since when have any of us known Heero to lose his composure?"

* * *

Heero walked down the middle of the campus. He was tired of Ayame haunting his dreams. It had been years since he'd last seen her and throughout the war he rarely thought of her. But why now? For all he knew, she was dead after the way he saw Dekeim began to beat her in that forest. Who knows what he did to her after he lost consciousness. Heero stopped in front of one of the fountains and sat down. As he prepared to take a book out, someone accidentally kicked his bag over.

Slightly angry and irritated, Heero bent down to get his bag. But before he could reach it, the person who kicked the bag picked it up for him. He stood up and looked into the dark brown eyes of the person now holding his bag. They were so familiar to him. He knew those eyes were brown, but they looked black. Her long brown hair was blowing in the wind. The blue jeans and pink camisole shirt she was wearing brought out her curves. Not only was this the person that Heero had seen on sitting on the bench; this was more than any familiar face. It was then that Heero did something he rarely did: he looked as though he'd seen a ghost. This woman was the more mature version of the young girl from his dreams. "Ayame?" he finally spoke.

The woman didn't recoil. She extended her arm to give Heero the bag. "I'm sorry for kicking your bag. But you must have me mistaken for someone else."

Heero took the bag, but didn't say anything. His face once again became expressionless.

The woman then introduced herself, "My name's Crystal." Then she stepped closer to Heero and whispered, " It's been a long time…Heero Yuy."

Heero narrowed his eyes. He knew this woman had to be Ayame, and she was letting him know that he was right. But for some reason, she wasn't going by that old name anymore. So he consciously decided to do things her way. "Yes it has," he said with no emotion.

"Hey Heero! Why did you--," Duo yelled to his friend as he approached him from behind. But he was cut off when he noticed Crystal standing there. Apparently he Trowa and Quatre were done talking for now. He pointed his finger at the woman standing across from Heero. "Crystal, right?"

Crystal was frank with her answer. "Yeah."

"That's right. You're Josephine's friend aren't you?"

Crystal raised her eyebrow, "Something like that."

It was then that Heero raised his eyebrow. If Ayame or Crystal, or whatever she called herself knew Josephine, then it was possible that she was also the enemy. But he didn't want to jump to conclusions right away.

Suddenly Duo interrupted Heero's thoughts by hitting him in the back, "You didn't tell me you were into the flirting thing Heero."

"Shut up Duo," Heero spoke with a hint of annoyance.

Crystal took it as an opportunity to get away. "Well I'll let you guys have your fun." Then she focused on Heero, "It was nice meeting you Mr. Yuy."

Heero knew she was hiding something or she knew he was the one doing the hiding and was trying to help him out. He wasn't really sure of what she was doing. But he played along for now. "Same to you."

Crystal smirked and turned to walk away.

When the woman disappeared into the distance, Duo spoke quietly to Heero, "Since she and Josephine are cool I should be able to get something on her."

Heero kept looking in the direction that Crystal walked off in as he responded to Duo. "If she says anything about her, tell me. I want to be the one to handle this one."

* * *

**To Be Continued...**


	4. Raised Suspicions

Here's chapter four! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: See chapter one.

**Chapter 4:  
****Raised Suspicions **

Quatre looked up from the work she was doing on her computer on the bed to see Crystal coming into their dorm room after another day of classes. She smiled and greeted her roommate. "How was your day?"

Crystal threw her bags down and collapsed on her bed. She took a deep breath and answered Quatre's question with her usual emotionless voice, "Tiring as usual." With that, she closed her eyes.

"That good huh?" The blonde said with some humor as she got up and walked over to her book bag to reach for a book.

Without moving but with a somewhat more witty tone, Crystal responded, "Always."

Quatre looked over her unsuspecting roommate with narrow eyes. She was well aware of the possibility of Crystal being a member of the Ursa Major Organization. After Duo told her and the others about Crystal's connection to Josephine, Quatre had her guard up day and night, watching the woman's every move, but she had to remain discreet. When Crystal would leave the room, Quatre would do her best to hack into Crystal's computer to gather whatever information she could but there had been no avail. The security system in the computer couldn't be breeched. She knew Crystal had to be hiding something. But what? Quatre was determined to find that out.

Sensing eyes on her, without moving a muscle, Crystal asked, "Is there a reason you're staring at me?"

Quatre blinked with some surprise. _She definitely has some good instincts,_ she thought as she came up with answer. "Umm….I had a question I was going to ask you, but I just can't remember what it was."

Crystal cracked her eyes open and looked at her roommate skeptically. "Really," she said as more of a statement than a question.

"Yeah. I'll let you know when it pops back into my head."

The two women seemed to have a staring contest for a brief moment—each one trying to figure out what the other might be thinking. The tension was slowly but surely rising. It was apparent that the both of them knew that something was going on with the other. Not seeming to really care as much, however, Crystal turned away and closed her eyes again.

Taking a deep breath, Quatre walked back over to her bed and began focusing on her work. For now, she could only hope that Duo and the others were having more luck.

* * *

"I'm so glad you could take me out tonight Duo," Josephine said with a smile as she walked side by side with Duo down Main St. The two had been seeing a lot more of each other lately. To Josephine, Duo was everything she was looking for—perfect personality with a perfectly fit body. He always liked to joke around, but when it was time to get serious, he did. Yes, Duo was just the kind of person she wanted and needed for her organization.

Duo smiled his charming smile. He knew he had her from day one. Throughout the four weeks, Duo played his role as the guy more than interested Josephine and thanks to his charm, Josephine had been pleading for him to join Ursa Major. In the beginning he declined. When in private, he began asking Josephine general questions about the organization and she would kindly answer. But she would not reveal any information involving the members or anything deeper. That was left confidential until he actually agreed to join.

This tactic allowed Duo to get some broad information, but realizing that this tactic could only get him so far, he figured that it was time to move in for the kill.

"No prob. I hope you had a good time tonight," he responded to Josephine's statement.

Josephine smiled back at Duo, "So where to now?"

Looking ahead as they walked, Duo gave the question some thought for a moment before saying, "Well the night's still young. Maybe we can hit the park. There is something I wanted to talk to you about."

Curiosity seemed to get the better of the Josephine the moment her date made that comment. "What's it about Duo?"

The braided man was silent for a moment before answering the question, "I was thinking about your offer, and I think I wanna join you."

A smile crept on Josephine's face. The excitement was on the surface and there was no fighting. "You really mean that?"

"Well yeah. It's not everyday, I meet someone as energetic as you and having such intense feelings toward such a cause. Why not join…ooph…" Duo was abruptly cut off when the woman jumped and put her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

"I knew you'd join us! I'm so excited Duo, you won't regret it," Josephine said as she pulled back from Duo.

The man smiled another charming smile. He knew he was now one step closer to accomplishing the mission. But part of him had to wonder why it was that Josephine was so trusting. She didn't seem like the type to want to cause uproar about anything. There were still many pieces of the puzzle that were missing. But he knew that everything would soon be figured out.

_**

* * *

**_

Flashback

_"Come on Heero, I know you're better than that!"_

_Heero got up from the ground after receiving a hard hit in the chest from Ayame. The two 7-year-olds had been training under Dekeim for about a year or so. Heero had been there about three months before Ayame had arrived. Dekeim had been so hard on the two of them that they had become determined to please the man who took them in when they had no one. So in their spare time, the two would spar together in order to be stronger. _

_Ayame and Heero charged at each other. Heero aimed his fist at Ayame's face but she quickly dodged the blow. She then prepared to kick Heero in the face but he quickly blocked it with his arm. The children knew each other so well that they knew what the other's move was going to be. The same cycle went on for 15 minutes before the two stopped, both feeling completely exhausted. The two children sat on the floor breathing heavily and trying to regain energy._

_Ayame turned to look at her friend, "Heero?"_

_Heero was sprawled out one the floor as he looked at Ayame who was sitting up with her legs crossed. "What is it?"_

_"Do you think we'll be like this forever," Ayame asked with a hint of sadness in her tone._

_But Heero didn't seem to notice. "What do you mean?" he asked as he sat up._

_"Like this. Friends."_

_Heero sat in silence for a moment. That question came out of no where. Ayame's cheerful attitude seemed to disappear quickly. "Where did that come from."_

_Ayame shrugged. "I don't know. I was just wondering. Things just seem so hard these days."_

_"Ayame, you're a great fighter. Dekeim is going to see it soon enough. He's going to see that in the both of us." Heero was referring to the fact that Dekeim had been so hard on the two of them. After Ayame came, Dekeim had been a lot harder on him in training. Maybe he just had a lot more going on than necessary. _

_For Ayame, she'd been there for over a year. When she'd first arrived she was nothing more than an emotional and lost little girl. But after a year of training with Dekeim and Heero, she'd turned into a tough, strong fighter. "It's not just that. Just in case something happens to us and we get torn apart. Will we still be friends?"_

_Heero had never looked at things that way. He just took everything as it came. Unlike him, Ayame tended to look ahead of everything. "I…think we will. Even if we get torn apart, I think there will be some way that we will find each other again."_

"_So you're saying that we'll always be friends?" Ayame asked with hopeful eyes._

_Heero gave her a look that said, "Duh." But instead, he said, "Of course we will."_

_Ayame picked up the look on Heero's face and giggled a little. "Promise?"_

_Heero smiled. "Promise."_

"_Good." Ayame smiled back and tackled Heero into a hug._

_Heero caught her and was surprised by her action. He blushed but didn't have a problem with that. He then smiled and hugged her back._

"_What would I do without you Heero," Ayame asked, not letting go._

"_I don't know," he said when they parted. "Because I don't know what I'd do without you."_

_**End Flashback**_

* * *

Heero never forgot the conversation that he and Ayame shared that day. It was not long after that, that he and the little girl were separated. He wouldn't be surprised if the woman he knew as Crystal really was the little girl he'd once known. But he still had to remember that it was possible that she was the enemy in this situation. Over the last few weeks, he'd done his own research on both Crystal James and Ayame Mitsuya.

What he'd found on Ayame was nothing out of the ordinary. He'd found a bunch of articles on the attack of the town and the burning of her parents' home. To this day, there is still nothing else on Ayame.

For Crystal, he'd managed to get into the school database and hacked into her profile. Other than the general information, everything from her hometown to family history came up as unknown. It was then that Heero knew that this woman was hiding something. More and more, he knew that that she had something to hide. And he was even more determined to solve this mystery.

Then he looked at her profile picture. He couldn't help but get caught up in her dark eyes. They looked so expressionless—a lot different from the eyes of the person he once knew. But who knows what she could have gone through after that fateful day. She looked so young but her eyes showed that she'd seen more than what the average person her age could handle. There were plenty of stories waiting to be told—stories of pain and heartache. There wasn't any joy in those intense eyes.

"You know staring at her picture on the computer is going to get you nowhere," a voice interrupted his thoughts.

Heero turned to see Trowa standing in the doorway. It was then that he realized that he forgot to lock the door when Duo left and the ever-silent Trowa apparently got in unnoticed. "How long have you been standing there," the stoic former gundam pilot asked.

A smirk crept onto Trowa's face. For him, it was odd seeing Heero act out of the ordinary…well out of the ordinary for Heero anyway. "Long enough to see that you need to confront this woman in order to get the answers you're looking for."

Heero turned back to his laptop and closed it. "I don't want to confront her until I have my info together."

"I understand. But I know you know exactly who she is." Trowa spoke as he sat on the edge of Duo's bed. "For all you know, she might not even want to be found so she made sure to hide her tacks. You really won't know until you talk to her."

An "Hn" was all that came out of Heero at that last statement. Perhaps Trowa did have a point. Right now, he kept running into brick walls from his angle.

Taking the silence as a negative sign, Trowa continued, "Heero, you're not going to be able to move on until you confront your past."

Another "Hn" came out as another response. It was then that Heero decided that he would find Crystal and deal with her directly.

* * *

Overall, the day was drag for Crystal. She'd just left her afternoon class and she had another hour and a half till her next class. Deciding she was a little hungry, she headed over to the small restaurant down the street from the campus. Once there, she ordered a turkey club sandwich and a glass of water. While she waited for her food, Crystal took out a book she'd recently purchased and began reading.

After a couple of minutes of being caught up in her story, she heard someone sit down at her table across from her. She looked up from her book to see Heero Yuy looking at her with an intense stare. Seemly unfazed, Crystal merely asked, "Care to join me for lunch?"

"You know why I'm here," Heero responded calmly.

Crystal sat back in her seat and folded her arms. "I'm sorry, but I don't. And I'm sure whatever it is, I can't help you with it anyway."

"Just answer this: Are you or aren't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Heero was getting aggravated. The woman was playing mind games and he hated that. He knew she knew that he was trying to figure out who she really was. "You know what I'm talking about."

Crystal raised an eyebrow. "Well do you already know the answer?"

Heero was silent for a moment. He thought of what little information he'd found in his research and realized that none of that mattered. Just looking at Crystal, he knew that she was once the little girl from his past. At that thought, he answered with a simple, "Yes."

An overconfident smirk crept onto Crystal's face. "Then whatever your answer is, you're right."

"I want to hear it from you."

The smirk faded and Crystal shook her head, "You can't."

Heero leaned forward in his seat. "What are you up to?"

Before Crystal could answer, the waitress arrived with her food. As the waitress put the food down, Crystal gave a polite "Thank you."

"You're welcome," the lady responded. And then she turned to Heero. "Can I get you something sir?"

"No. Thank you," Heero answered in a tone that almost scared the waitress.

As the waitress walked away, Crystal spoke, "Hn, You could have gotten something. My treat."

The blue-eyed man glared at the woman sitting across from him but said nothing.

Sensing Heero's agitation, Crystal leaned forward and met his gaze. "Look, I'm not the person you're looking for."

"Then how did you know who I am?"

That same overconfident smirk was back on Crystal's face. She took a bite out of her sandwich. After swallowing, she said, "You don't remember do you?"

Heero had a blank stare on his face. Apparently, he didn't know what she was talking about.

Taking that as a cue, Crystal began gave him a hint. "Remember that mysterious gundam you battled during the war?"

Heero looked visibly astonished as his mind took him back to that particular battle.

_

* * *

_

**A.C. 195**

_Heero was on his way to destroy a carrier that contained OZ weapons that were being transported to a nearby base. The last few days had been a bit rough for him. First, Relena had been getting on his nerves because of her nosiness. Just when he's about to shoot at her just to scare her off a little bit, he gets shot in the arm and leg by Duo Maxwell and gets captured. Then that same guy ends up trying to save his life even though he didn't really want to be saved. For a second there he figured he would end his life, but somehow Relena snapped him out of it at the last minute. Then Duo retrieves his Gundam. In a hurry to leave, Heero goes ahead and steal some parts of Duo's Gundam so he can leave to accomplish his mission. Part of him might have felt a little guilty for doing that. But he had to go._

_He flew his Gundam, in the direction of where the carrier would be coming from. This mission should be easy enough, he thought to himself. Everything was one big battle after another since he'd arrived on earth. The moment he'd reached the earth's atmosphere he'd ended up in a battle with one of OZ's officials. Ever since then, OZ had been going after the mobile suits called Gundams and their pilots._

_Heero's radar went off, snapping his out of his thoughts. He looked over at it to see that the OZ carrier was nearby. He increased his speed as he pulled out his beam saber to prepare for the attack. A few seconds later, Heero aimed at the carrier, but there was something right behind it: another Gundam. This one looked similar to his only it was dark purple and silver. Just as quickly as he spotted the Gundam, its own beam saber slashed through the carrier, creating an explosion. It was impossible for there to be any survivors. Heero wasn't all too thrilled as he watched the other Gundam. He didn't like anyone interfering with his mission. As he approached the other Gundam, he knew the other pilot had to have seen him coming when he noticed it's beam saber being directed toward him._

_With a quick reaction, Heero then pulled his own beam saber and pointed it at his opponent. "Who are you," he spoke through the intercom system._

_"Who I am is not necessary," a woman's voice spoke back to him._

_This surprised Heero a little, but he maintained his cool. "You're a woman. I almost didn't expect that."_

_"Always expect the unexpected." This woman's tone was very mature, yet she sounded as if there was no life in her voice._

_Heero didn't have time for any chit-chat. "If you want a fight then I'll give you one. If not, then get out of my way."_

_The mysterious woman laughed a little. "Well that depends. Are you a friend or an enemy?"_

_"I don't have time for your games," Heero said as he propelled his Gundam toward his opponent._

_The other pilot quickly threw her beam saber up to block her Heero's attack. Using her strength, she pushed her adversary off of her. Before his opponent had a chance to counterattack, he quickly moved in and attempted to bring the other Gundam down, but every move he made was quickly blocked. Either this woman had some quick reflexes or she knew his every move._

_The Gundam, known as the Archangel, quickly maneuvered to dodge her opponent's attack. Right now, its pilot was on the defense and wasn't enjoying that at all. She hated to be on the downside. Just when the adversary was about to throw another blow, she made a quick dodge around the mobile suit. Now behind the Gundam known as Wing, the Archangel's elbow jammed into the back of Wing, knocking it out of the air and onto the forest on the ground below._

_Heero sat in his cockpit completely irritated. This opponent was strong. Without hesitation, Wing got back onto its feet just as the other Gundam came down from above. Just as it slammed its beam saber down Wing put its beam saber up to block the blow. Now it was now a struggle between both sides, Archangel and Wing were now neck and neck. As Archangel pushed, Wing pushed back._

_The mystery pilot smiled. She was loving the challenge. Since she'd arrived on earth, her battles were always a bit on the boring side. Things seemed too easy. But this battle was just up to her standards. Part of her had to admire this guy for his abilities._

_As much as he didn't want to admit it, for some reason, Heero was enjoying this battle. It seemed that he and this girl were evenly matched and she was a challenge worth taking._

_"You're pretty good," the female voice rang through his intercom._

_Heero smirked at her comment. It was hard to determine whether or not she was being sarcastic and he liked it. "Hn. You're not so bad yourself."_

_Before another response could be made, Heero received an incoming message pertaining to his next mission. With a quick thrust, he pushed his opponent back. For him, it was time to go. "But I don't have time for this. There are more important things to do."_

_Before the other pilot could respond to her opponent's statement, another incoming message came in. Apparently, there was another mission for her. Part of her was a bit disappointed that this little battle had to end, but she had a mission to complete. "Well, it seems it's time for me to leave as well." She then put the beam saber away. "We should pick this up another time."_

_"You might not even find me. You don't even know who I am," the Wing pilot responded with a monotone._

_"I'd rather not know who you are," a curt reply came out of the pilot. She then fired up her Gundam and took off._

_Heero watched for a moment as the Gundam disappeared in the distance. He still wasn't convinced whether or she was a friend or foe. It's possible that she could have been an ally due to her attacking an OZ carrier. Plus, she kept him alive, at least for now anyway. Heero was also a little surprised by his own actions. He didn't know why he'd let his opponent live. Then again, he looked forward to their next encounter._

_**End Flashback**_

_

* * *

_

**Present**

Heero looked at Crystal in shock. He never thought he'd find out the identity of that mystery opponent. They'd met a couple of more times in battle during the war, but no one could ever track that Gundam. He had to admit, she was good at what she did.

Crystal looked back at Heero with a smirk as she watched Heero figure her out. "So are you going to say something?"

"It was you," he whispered in a state of disbelief. "You're 06."

* * *

**To Be Continued...**

Well that's all for chapter 4. Please review and let me know how it is so far. Till next time...


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